GENEVA — Friday’s statement by the United Nations expressed concern at the reintroduction of a Trump-era policy that made it impossible for thousands of migrants to seek asylum in Mexico.
On Monday, a U.S. appeals court rejected a new attempt by the Biden Administration to end the policy. It is commonly known as “Remain In Mexico” and officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols.
After taking office in January, President Joe Biden (a Democrat) scrapped the Republican policy of his predecessor. A federal judge ordered that the policy be restored after Missouri and Texas sued.
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for UN Human Rights Office, stated that she was concerned about the reimplementation and risk it presents to Mexico’s already stretched humanitarian capacity to receive migrants.
“We are concerned about the fact that any heightened security measures to deal with migration will only drive migrants farther into unsafe routes. We are afraid that we’ll see more people resort to dangerous routes and smuggling routes.”
The 2019 policy requires that asylum seekers must wait in Mexico for weeks, sometimes years, to be granted a U.S. court date. They cannot then await their hearings in the United States. Biden denounced the policy during the campaign trail. Immigration advocates claim that migrants who remain in border cities are at risk of being kidnapped and other dangers.
Nancy Izzo Jackson, Senior Bureau Officer for the U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, stated to reporters that they are working to appeal the decision in the courts.
Republicans are expressing concern at the record number of migrants who have been caught crossing the border between Mexico and America this year.
However, many migrants who are arrested at the border are quickly expelled and not given the chance to seek asylum under a Trump policy that was in place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This policy has been maintained by Biden.
